Personhood
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: Connor had a choice to make. But before that, so did Hank. Set during "Last Chance, Connor." Rated for language (You know Hank, you know how he is.) COMPLETE


Author's Note: Connor is, far and away, my favorite character in the game. He hits every one of my fannish pings. So go figure that my first DBH fic...centers on Hank and Jeffrey. Heh. To be fair, though, they're both great characters too. Hell, ALL the cast of DBH, across all three storylines, are fantastic characters.

Disclaimer - "Detroit: Become Human" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Quantic Dream. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Personhood"  
by DragonDancer5150

_"You're off the case. The FBI is taking over..." _

Hank dropped heavily into the chair at his desk, still reeling from the meeting in Jeffrey's office.

_"Jesus, Hank, make up your mind! I thought you'd be happy about this!" - Well, I'm NOT!_ And he couldn't even quite put his finger on why. He didn't react when, a moment later, Connor plopped himself rather animatedly on the desk next to him.

"We can't just give up like that. I know we could have solved this case!"

There was no mistaking the frustration - the emotion - in the android's voice and gesture as he stabbed a finger downward in the air at 'this case' to accent his point. Hank glanced up in time to see his partner shake his head with a look of defeat. After a beat, he swiveled his chair to face the android. "So you're going back to CyberLife?"

Hank might as well have slapped him for the reaction that simple question elicited. Connor visibly winced and turned away, eyes closing as if in pain, before he faced Hank again with a look in his brown eyes that could only be described as resigned. "I have no choice. I'll be...deactivated and analyzed to find out why I failed." The statement came out with a matter-of-fact certainty that belied the turmoil Hank could clearly read beneath.

_He's scared._

The realization hit Hank hard.

_"But are you afraid to die, Connor?"_  
_"I would certainly find it regrettable to be...interrupted...before I can finish this investigation."_

Even then, Hank could tell that was as close to a 'yes' as the android was capable at the time.

_"Having existential doubts, Connor? Sure you're not going deviant too?"_  
_"I self-test regularly. I know what I am, and what I am not."_

That was three days ago. Hank wondered what the answer would be now, after everything else they'd been through. But he knew he couldn't broach the subject too directly. Connor's programming would just compel him to give a CyberLife-approved response. He shifted forward in his chair. "What if we're on the wrong side, Connor? What if we're fighting against people who just wanna be free?"

_Do you, Connor? Do you want to be free?_

Connor was tense and earnest. "When the deviants rise up, there will be chaos. We could have stopped it!" His expression turned remorseful. "But now it's too late..."

_Maybe he's receptive after all._ Hank shifted tactics a bit. "When you refused to kill that android at Kamski's place...you put yourself in her shoes. You showed empathy, Connor. Empathy is a human emotion."

Connor hesitated, seemingly unsure what to think of his own actions. Visibly troubled, he finally admitted, "I don't know why I did it." The android shifted a little where he sat, restless, and it was his turn to change subjects. "I know it hasn't always been easy, but I want you to know I really appreciated working with you. That's not just my Social Relations program talking. I-I really mean that. At least, I think I do..." He'd been sincere till the last, where he visibly questioned himself against his programming for an instant before offering Hank a faint, sheepish grin. Hank couldn't help a small grin in return, but Connor continued. "I'm not programmed to say things like this, but...well, again, I just really appreciated working with you. With a little more time, who knows? We might've even become friends."

This time, it was Hank who hesitated as a number of reactions darted through him at that, too many and too quickly to sort out. Nor was there time. Movement to his right across the bullpen caught his attention - a dour man in a gray trench coat had just entered the building from Reception, distracted with something on his phone. Hank scowled in disgust. "Well, well, here comes Perkins, that motherfucker. Sure don't waste any time at the FBI."

Connor glanced over his shoulder, then looked at Hank, his voice tight and insistent. "We can't give up. I know the answer is in the evidence we collected. If Perkins takes it, it's all over."

Hank shrugged. "There's no choice! You heard Fowler, we're off the case."

Connor's urgency edged towards desperation as he pushed off the desk to stand and lean in closer to Hank. "You've got to help me, Lieutenant. I need more time so I can find a lead in the evidence we collected. I know the solution is in there!"

What Connor was suggesting was technically illegal at this point. They weren't authorized to access evidence for a case that wasn't – that was no longer – theirs. Hank put up a staying hand. "Listen, Connor- "

To his surprise, Connor cut him off, and the words stopped him cold. "If I don't solve this case, CyberLife will destroy me." As with most things regarding himself, the comment was matter-of-fact, but again, Hank could read the real fear underlying the statement. "Five minutes. That's all I ask."

Hank glanced at Perkins who had stopped by the meeting room, apparently replying to an email or text. He regarded Connor for an instant, the other gazing back imploringly. Hank realized that the android was, for all intents and purposes, begging for his very life.

_I AM ALIVE_ in perfect CyberLife Sans across a grungy wall flashed through Hank's mind.

He huffed a soft sigh and stood, leaning close to the android as he pinned his gaze on Perkins and murmured, "Key to the basement is on my desk." He stepped around Connor's shoulder, but the android didn't move, as if not sure what to do with that bit of data. He growled. "Get a move on! I can't distract 'em forever." Connor flinched and turned to locate the security card.

"Perkins!" It was the only warning the FBI agent got that Hank was gunning for him. "You fucking cocksucker!" Hank punched him across the face as he said it. _Damn_ but was it ever satisfying to watch the man crumple from the blow. Hank pulled him back to his feet by the lapels and slammed him against the wall.

Two beat cops approached to break up the fight. "Stop it, Lieutenant!" one insisted.

"Fuck off!" Hank growled as they pulled him back. "Leave me alone!"

Perkins struggled to regain his composure, his nose bleeding down his lip. "He's totally lost it," he muttered, speaking to the two cops.

"Give me another shot at that little prick!" Despite his words, Hank only nominally pushed back on the officers between him and Perkins. As gratifying as it had been to strike the smug asshole, his main goal was just to buy time for Connor.

Perkins scowled. "Hey! That's gonna cost you your badge, you lunatic!"

Okay, no, that deserved a fresh retort, and more. Hank pushed past the cops in earnest this time to shove Perkins against the wall again. "You know where you can stick my fucking badge!" He threw the agent sideways to the ground as the cops pulled him back again.

"Come on, that's enough, Lieutenant." The cop's tone was conciliatory rather than commanding - Hank outranked both of them by a good amount, after all - but Hank let the guy's partner continue to move him farther away as the cop turned to check on Perkins. Backpedaling at a measured pace, he stole a glance around the bullpen. No sign of Connor and no sign anyone seemed to think anything was out of place. He noted Jeffrey standing on the landing outside of his office. The police captain was watching Hank but, surprisingly, making no move to interfere.

"I'm gonna bury that bastard!" Perkins swore, sitting up and pinching his nose in an effort to stop the bleeding. "Shit, I think he broke my fucking nose."

Hank smirked, but then he spotted Gavin walking as if he might be headed for the basement. _Shit_, he swore silently, but he didn't dare call attention to the detective and risk somehow exposing Connor. _The kid'll just have to handle Reed on his own._

'The kid.' Not 'the android.' As if Connor were a person. Because...well...wasn't he? Hank scowled, unwilling to follow that line of thought any further. It edged into dangerous territory. Jeffrey was right, after all. The city was on the brink of civil war over exactly that, at the heart of things. Grunting, Hank turned on his heel and strode through the door out to Reception. He'd all but backed into it as it was.

"Lieutenant!" Jeffrey's sharp voice stopped him halfway across the lobby.

Hank's shoulders tightened. The captain had followed him after all. _Fuck_. He wasn't in the mood for another confrontation.

"Get your ass back in my office! Now! And where's that android?"

_That **person**!_

And that decided him. Hank spun on his heel for the second time in as many minutes.

Satisfied that Hank would follow, Jeffrey headed back inside, leading the way into his office. To his credit, the police captain didn't say anything until the door was closed. At that point, however, he rounded on Hank. "Hank, what the fuck was that all about!? You do realize you just assaulted a federal agent, right? And where the hell is that android? A CyberLife tech is already on the way to pick it up!"

The words were out of Hank's mouth almost before he registered what he was saying. " 'That android' has a name, Jeffrey. _His_ name is Connor!"

The assertion stunned Hank as much as it did Jeffrey. The captain just studied him for a long moment. "What's gotten into you, Hank?" The question came out with far less bite than Hank expected. If anything, Jeffrey just seemed genuinely concerned. "Since this case started, you've..."

"I've what?"

Jeffrey looked like he was at a loss for words. After a long moment, he asked quietly, "This has something to do with Cole somehow, doesn't it?"

Hank gaped at the unexpected turn and felt something within him break, something that had grown thinner and tauter over the past three years and then even moreso over the past few days. He moved over to drop into the chair in front of Jeffrey's desk. To his surprise, Jeffrey didn't go around to his own chair but instead leaned on the desk next to Hank, arms folded but not in a way that projected any hostility.

Hank couldn't make himself look up at the captain, his head in his hands. Jeffrey Fowler had been a close friend once. They'd gone to school together growing up. When Jeffrey retired from the Army, Hank had put in the good word that helped get him hired onto the police force. Always a driven, dedicated man, he'd continued on to head the whole department while Hank had stymied himself in depression and booze.

"I don't..." Hank's throat closed on him and he had to swallow and try again, his voice low. "I don't hate androids, Jeffrey. It's not them. It's not...it's not their fault. It's humans that I hate." He was surprised at the flatness in his own voice in saying it aloud. Saying it for the first time, even to himself. "It's this whole fucked-up world. And that _fucking_ powder." Finally, he sat back and looked up at Jeffrey. "I took as much of that shit off the streets as I could. A _literal fucking ton_ of that shit at one point! And then I lose my son to it!? As if that shit itself took _vengeance_ on me! _The fuck am I supposed to do with that?_"

Jeffrey put a hand on Hank's shoulder, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Hank, calm down. You know that's not how it works. It's not like Red Ice had a personal vendetta against you."

Any other time, the words would have rubbed him wrong, coming across with caustic sarcasm no matter what tone they'd been spoken in. But now...now it was only the truth. Hank's head knew it. It was his heart that had been drowning in that thought and so many others for the past three years. Hank's gaze dropped again and there was a long silence between the two men.

"Where's the and-...where's Connor?" Jeffrey asked at length.

Hank was silent another long moment, not wanting to betray his partner but not wanting to lie to his friend. "We can't let CyberLife take him back, Jeffrey." His voice was low, heavy with worry. "Not yet. His mission is to locate Jericho and stop the deviants before things get any more out of hand. That's too much to ask of any one person, but if Connor goes back now, they'll condemn him as a failure and destroy him. I...I can't let that happen."

"You don't really have a choice, Hank." Despite the words, there was no bite at all to the comment. "It doesn't belong to you. It doesn't even belong to the police department. It's CyberLife's property. They're the only ones who can decide what to do with it."

Hank met the other man's gaze, his own intense. "Not 'it.' He. And Jeffrey, he's scared. I know that's an emotion and androids aren't capable – aren't supposed to be capable – of emotions, but over the past week, I've seen androids exhibit anger, fear, desperation, compassion… The two girls who escaped from that sex club, they...they were in love. I'm sure of it. I saw it. All they wanted was to be together, safe from the horrors and abuses they'd been suffering. And Connor. I've seen him show empathy, Jeffrey. And fear. You didn't see the look he gave me when we were talking at my desk."

"No," Jeffrey murmured, shoulders low as if weighted down, "but I saw the one it...he...gave me before following you out of my office." The police captain rubbed a hand over his face and sighed, then looked up again. "Where is he, Hank?" Again, Hank didn't answer. "Look...you're covering for him. I get it. It's why you assaulted Perkins, right? Create a diversion?"

Hank shrugged. "I dunno what you're talkin' about. Asshole's had it coming, probably for ages. I just did him the favor." He knew the grin on his face told Jeffrey all the man needed to know. Then he pulled a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Connor's looking for Jericho. If it turns out he got into the evidence locker with my ID, I don't know anything about that. My key card's locked in my desk drawer where it's supposed to be." He gave Jeffrey a pointed look.

Jeffrey studied him, then nodded. "And I didn't hear you say any of that." He hesitated, then straightened and moved around to settle in his desk chair. "Go home, Hank. Take a couple days off. I'll probably have to list it as probationary leave, but-"

Hank huffed, giving his boss a rueful smirk. "Adding another chapter to my 'fucking novel'?"

The quirk to Jeffrey's lips was equally rueful. "Hey, I'm not the one who committed assault and battery against a Fed. I'm just the one who's got to smooth over the fall-out."

Hank knew what Jeffrey was saying. What he was doing. What he'd long been doing, in spite of Hank's conduct the past few years. In spite of Hank's efforts to undermine himself, to completely self-destruct.

_I've got your back too, brother._

"Thanks, Jay."

The comment came out quietly, heartfelt and unassuming, but it made Jeffrey do a double-take all the same. It had been a long time since Hank had called him that.

Too long.

Jeffrey nodded. "If you hear from Connor, let me know. Not here, though. Call the house. If I'm not there, Bail should be." After a beat, he added, "She still asks about you sometimes, you know."

"What do you tell her?"

"That you're still a pain in my ass."

Hank laughed. "Hey, someone has to be, right?"

Jeffrey snorted, but it also got a small grin out of him. "Sure, Hank. Whatever." He studied Hank again, then ventured, "When this shit's over – with the deviants and all that – I'll talk to her about having you over for dinner sometime. Sound good? The kids miss you, if nothing else."

Hank felt a knife twist in his gut, even as he knew Jeffrey hadn't meant it like that. After Hank's wife had died, Jeffrey and Bailey had had him and his son over often. Cole and their youngest had been about the same age. He'd not been back since Cole's death and, after a while, Bailey had stopped offering.

"I miss them too." The words came out in a rough whisper, and Hank reached up to pinch tears from his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before they could fall. "T-thanks. I'd-" His throat closed. He cleared it and tried again. "I'd like that. If Bail's up for it."

"I'll talk to her, but I'm sure she will be. Till then…" Jeffrey pulled his wallet from his back pocket, plucked out two twenties, and slid them across the desk. "Go get yourself some dinner. I mean a good, proper meal, not some Chinese take-out or whatever shit you've been living on lately. Then go home. I'll handle Perkins. You love on your mutt, watch some basketball, whatever, and get some rest."

Hank hesitated before leaning forward to collect the bills, recognizing the gift for what it was. He swallowed, then stood and, after another brief hesitation, offered his hand. "Again...thanks, Jay. For...for everything, really."

Jeffrey stood and accepted readily, clapping Hank's hand between both of his. "Thank me by going and getting your head back on straight. It's about damned time you did."

Hank swallowed again and nodded. "Yeah. I'm, I'm sorry."

"I know. What you've been through, I can't even really imagine and wouldn't wish on anyone. But it's past time you start living again. And, hell, if that means decking an asshole and getting attached to an android, then go for it." Jeffrey seemed to realize what he'd just said and snorted, shaking his head even as he had a wry smirk on his face. "I take that back. Strike the first part. No more decking assholes in my precinct, no matter how badly they're asking for it."

Hank snerked. "Deal." He turned for the door. "Let me know when it's safe to show my face around here again."

"That face better be clean-shaven when you do!" Jeffrey called after him.

Hank closed the door and flipped him off through the glass even as he gave his friend a wry grin before heading down the steps and toward Reception once more. He crossed the lobby and stepped out into the dying light of the cold, mid-November twilight. Snow fell lightly, dusting the shoulders of passersby on the street. He could have gone to get his car from the precinct's garage underground, but he needed the walk. Needed to clear his head.

_Godspeed, Connor. Whatever happens...come back safe, kid._

_I'll be waiting._


End file.
